European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing Annual Report 2019 ERIBA | Cover .indd Alle pagina's 30-06-2020 13:49 Annual Report 2019 2019 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 1 16-07-2020 20:59 Welcome to our Annual Report 2019 Coordination: Gerald de Haan and Megha Upadhyay Secretarial Support: Sylvia Hoks, Annet Vos-Hassing & Alida de Haan ژيƺɀǣǕȇƏȇƳXǼǼɖɀɎȸƏɎǣȒȇɀ) Stefan Heinrich ژيȸǣȇɎǣȇǕ¨ Ridderprint BV | Anand Baldew Copies: 100 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 2 16-07-2020 20:59 Annual Report Table of contents 1. Foreword by the Director 4 2. Ageing Research at ERIBA 6 3. 2019: Highlights 10 4.Facts and Figures 20 אא ³ƬǣƺȇɎǣˡƬ¨ɖƫǼǣƬƏɎǣȒȇɀٮ -Funding/Grants 32 -Invited Speakers 35 אג ƺȒȵǼƺ¨ٮ 5.Facilities 46 6.Education 50 7.Outreach & Dissemination 54 זד ³ƬǣƺȇɎǣˡƬƳɮǣɀȒȸɵ ȒƏȸƳِז 9.Sponsors 59 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 3 16-07-2020 20:59 Foreword by the Director 2019 in review It is a great pleasure to present to you the 2019 Annual Report of the European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing. This report provides you with an overview of all our activities and achievements, in science, education, business development and outreach. We value all these domains equally, and are proud to share with you all that has been accomplished in 2019. I write these words in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. This pandemic may very well have a major effect on global research and education for quite some time to come. One aspect, highly relevant to what we do in ERIBA, relates to how the virus differentially affects individuals in society. For as yet unclear reasons, globally elderly individuals are far more susceptible to develop critical morbidity compared to young. Thus, like many other diseases such as cancer and dementia, Covid-19 is very much an age-associated disease. Gerald de Haan ³ƬǣƺȇɎǣˡƬ(ǣȸƺƬɎȒȸ In ERIBA we study what ageing is, and why elderly individ- ɖƏǼɀƫƺƬȒȅƺǔȸƏǣǼƏȇƳɀɖɀƬƺȵɎǣƫǼƺɎȒƳǣɀƺƏɀƺِXɎǣɀȒɖȸˡȸȅ believe that only if we understand why cells and tissues in our body gradually cease proper functioning as we age will it be possible to intervene in the ageing process. Therefore, if anything, the Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced our rai- son d’etre and has made us more committed than ever to ƬȒȇɎȸǣƫɖɎƺɎȒˡȇƳǣȇǕȒɖɎɯǝɵɯƺƏǕƺِ In 2019 we published 61 papers, more than any other year. The large majority of these papers were the result of teams of ERIBA scientists collaborating with each other, or with researchers outside our Institute. 4 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 4 16-07-2020 20:59 Bg>KB;:p^lmn]rpaZmZ`^bg`bl%Zg]par^e]^ker bg]bob]nZel[^\hf^_kZbeZg]lnl\^imb[e^mh]bl^Zl^' We believe that collaboration in science, In October 2019 we have organized, for the where multiple teams work towards a third time, the biennial conference series on single goal, is required to reach our purpose: the Molecular Biology of Ageing Meeting the discovery of critical mechanisms of in Groningen. We assembled a stellar team ageing and age-related diseases and the of international speakers to cover many development of new intervention strategies. aspects of the ageing process. One of the keynote speakers was Titia de Lange, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from We remain very committed to contributing our University earlier in the year. Little did ɎȒɎƏǼƺȇɎƳƺɮƺǼȒȵȅƺȇɎǣȇɎǝƺˡƺǼƳȒǔ we know at that time that this was one ȅƏȇɵǝǣǕǝǼɵɎƏǼƺȇɎƺƳ¨ǝ( of the last ageing meeting to be held forח׎׏אƏǕƺǣȇǕِXȇ students joined our training program, and quite some time, as the viral pandemic has similarly, undergraduate students enrolled seriously affected international conferencing. at Universities from all over the world have Excitingly, as I write this foreword, many come to ERIBA. webinars related to ageing have been launched, including a series by Marco ِ ƺȅƏȸǣƏǣȇ0«X) Progress in science is exponential, and it is of ǣȅȅǣȇƺȇɎǣȅȵȒȸɎƏȇƬƺɎȒɀǝƏȸƺȒɖȸˡȇƳǣȇǕɀ with society. In 2019 ERIBA scientists were The upcoming year, 2020, will be an odd involved in many of such outreach activities. year, which all of us will remember vividly. It çȒɖɯǣǼǼˡȇƳƏǼȒȇǕǼǣɀɎȒǔƏǼǼȒɖȸƺǔǔȒȸɎɀǣȇ is uncertain how much longer Covid-19 will this Annual Report. We do not only organize affect the research and education agenda. these outreach activities because they are However, whatever the future will bring, our fun (which they are!), but also to convey the mission and ambition are more viable and .ǣɀƺɀɀƺȇɎǣƏǼ relevant than ever beforeټˡȇƳǣȇǕɎǝǣȇǕɀȒɖɎٻȅƺɀɀƏǕƺɎǝƏɎ to offer future therapeutic opportunities to confront age-associated diseases. We need to understand how proteins properly fold in the brain if it is our aim to target Alzheimer disease. We need to understand why the immune system in elderly functions poorly if it is our aim to ensure that a future Covid-20 pandemic has the same disastrous Gerald de Haan consequences as the -19 pandemic that hit us this year. ³ƬǣƺȇɎǣˡƬ(ǣȸƺƬɎȒȸ May 2020 In 2019 we recruited John LaCava from Rockefeller University in New York City to ERIBA. John is an expert in proteomics and develops sophisticated technology to capture protein complexes from cells to molecularly dissect functional pathways. We very much welcome John and anticipate that his expertise will result in many collaborative projects with scientists in ERIBA and the UMCG. 5 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 5 16-07-2020 20:59 Ageing Research at ERIBA ERIBA is an internationally recognised European research institute located in the city of Groningen, The Netherlands. 6 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 6 16-07-2020 20:59 Since its inception in 2009, the institute has grown and established itself as one of ma^e^Z]bg`k^l^Zk\abglmbmnm^lbgma^Û^e] of ageing biology. The institute has state- of-art facilities and focuses on research to understand the causes of ageing. Research New strategies Research at ERIBA aims to address ERIBA aims to develop new strategies to phenomena such as genome stability, prevent age-related diseases and increase protein homeostasis decline, metabolic the healthy life span of individuals. The decline, and stem cell loss of function. institute also aims to provide evidence-based These phenomena have been implicated in recommendations for healthy ageing by various age-related diseases such as cancer, discovering new drug targets, specialized neurodegeneration, and diabetes. The disease models, and assays for the purpose research at ERIBA investigates the molecular of adding more healthy years to human life. and cellular mechanisms underlying ageing and age-related diseases. 7 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 7 16-07-2020 21:00 ERIBA is currently the home of 13 research groups that cover a wide range of age-related topics. Ageing Biology and Stem Cells The aim of studies of Gerald de Haan’s Laboratory is to understand the mechanisms that specify normal hematopoietic stem cell func- tioning from birth to death. Genomic Instability in Development and Disease The long-term aim of the Laboratory of Floris Foijer and his team is understanding aneuploidy to improve cancer therapy. Telomeres and Genome Integrity The overall goal of Michael Chang’s Laboratory is to ˡǕɖȸƺȒɖɎɎǝƺȅƺƬǝƏȇǣɀȅɀɖɀƺƳƫɵƏƬƺǼǼɎȒȵȸȒɎƺƬɎǣɎɀǕƺȇȒȅƺ from becoming mutated or inappropriately altered or rearranged. Cellular Senescence and Age-related Pathologies ɀ Group aims to understand the basic molecular andټxƏȸƬȒ(ƺȅƏȸǣƏ ƬƺǼǼɖǼƏȸȅƺƬǝƏȇǣɀȅɀȒǔƏǕƺǣȇǕًȵƏȸɎǣƬɖǼƏȸǼɵƏɀȵƺƬǣˡƬƬƺǼǼɖǼƏȸɀɎƏɎƺً “senescence”. Genetic Instability and Ageing The role of genome instability in stem cells in relation to disease pro- cesses and ageing is the main focus of Peter Lansdorp’s group. Genome Structure Ageing Research at the Laboratory of Victor Guryev is aimed at understand- ing structural changes in human genomes for a better detection of genomic and environmental risks as well as for disease prevention. 8 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 8 16-07-2020 21:00 Macromolecules and Interactomes The laboratory of John LaCava focuses broadly on characterizing the contributions of dysregulated macromolecular interactions to dis- eases. To characterize such interactions the group uses combination of biochemical, “omics” and computational approaches. Asymmetric Cell Division and Ageing Judith Paridaen and her group are focused on understanding how microscopic processes within single stem cells affect their function which is essential to answer how stem cells shape and can help to maintain an healthy body. Gene Regulation In Ageing and Age-Related Diseases The group of Cor Calkoven is particularly interested in the function of mRNA control elements, protein factors and microRNAs that are involved in mTORC1-controlled processes. Molecular Neurobiology of Ageing The group led by Ellen Nollen is focused on understanding the mo- lecular mechanisms that drive age-related toxicity of aggregation- prone proteins, which plays a role in age-related diseases like Parkinson and Alzheimer. Quantitative Epigenetics The group of Maria Colomé-Tatché is interested in understanding the epigenetic changes that take place during the processes of de- velopment, ageing and disease. Stem Cell Regulation and Mechanisms of Regeneration The Laboratory led by Eugene Berezikov aims at understanding molecular mechanisms that regulate regeneration and activity of stem cells. Cellular Biochemistry The laboratory of Liesbeth Veenhoff aims for a system wide global characterization of age-related changes, as well as detailed under- standing how the NPCs and cognate transport factors play a role in cellular ageing. 9 ERIBA | Annual Report V2.indd 9 16-07-2020 21:00 2019 A Closer Look This section